'It was the worst thing that ever happened to me': John Travolta reveals crippling grief after son's death

John Travolta has revealed the shattering grief he experienced after the death of his teenage son admitting he feared he would not pull through.

The Hollywood star said the death of his autistic son Jett four years ago was 'the worst thing that's ever happened in my life'.

Speaking to BBC interviewer Barry Norman at London's Theatre Royal, the Saturday Night Fever star, who turns 60 on Tuesday, said: 'The truth is, I didn't know if I was going to make it. Life was no longer interesting to me, so it took a lot to get me better.'

Religious support: After Jett, pictured between his mother and father with sister Ella Bleu, died, John Travolta was assigned Scientology minders who followed him day and night. The star revealed it was the 'worst' thing that ever happened to him

Jett Travolta died at the age of 16 in January 2009 from a seizure when he struck his head against a bath during a family holiday in the Bahamas.

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Both his father and his mother Kelly Preston have since confirmed their eldest son was autistic and had a history of seizures.

The couple have two other children: 13-year-old daughter Ella Bleu and three-year-old son Benjamin.

Heartbreak: John and Kelly were grief-stricken after the death of their 16-year-old son Jett while on vacation in the Bahamas in January 2009; John is shown smiling at his son in this undated picture

It was not until after his death that Travolta acknowledged Jett was autistic, something which he and Kelly, his wife of 23 years, had always vehemently denied as Scientology does not believe autism exists.

Travolta's grief was so crippling he was accompanied by representatives from his church every day for two years in order to help him cope.

He told BBC's Barry on Sunday: 'I will forever be grateful to Scientology for supporting me for two years solid, I mean Monday through Sunday.

Hardline church: John Travolta, pictured with wife Kelly Preston in Beverly Hills last month, was under 24/7 Scientology-watch for two years

'They didn't take a day off, working through different angles of the techniques to get through grief and loss, and to make me feel that finally I could get through a day.'

Travolta has previously revealed he 'didn't want to wake up' following Jett's death and that the controversial religion had 'saved his life' on more than one occasion.

His 90-minute appearance saw him field questions about various aspects of his life, career and keen interest in aviation.

Devastating loss: John Travolta's house in the Bahamas where his son Jett died on a family vacation at the at Old Bahama Bay resort, Grand Bahama

Also addressed was the mid-career slump that followed his appearances in Saturday Night Fever and Grease, a downturn that was only arrested when Quentin Tarantino cast him as a heroin-abusing hitman in 1994's Pulp Fiction.

'It got a little complicated for a few years,' the actor explained. 'A lot of things added up to a five-year period that wasn't so good for me.'

Travolta went on to thank Tarantino for facilitating his career comeback. 'There were people who were much hotter than me who wanted the role,' he said.

'I didn't know if I was going to make it': Travolta, pictured at the G'Day USA Black Tie Gala, Los Angeles, in January, took two years to recover

'But Quentin put his career on the line and refused to make the movie without me in it.'

The film ended up securing Travolta his second Oscar nomination, following the best actor citation he received for Saturday Night Fever in 1978. To date, though, the actor has yet to win one of the Academy's coveted statuettes.

He insisted: 'I don't feel at all ignored or not verified. You're not going to find a bitter guy in me.

'I would love to be a villain in the next James Bond film,' Travolta continued, revealing he had openly courted the role during an informal meeting with producer Barbara Broccoli.